Some interesting snippits from C|NET and Computerworld articles when searching Google for "curved tv". Nothing else in the search good or bad... Then again, these ARE posted on the internet, so who knows if you can trust them.
----------------------------From Computerworld (
Curved screen TVs expected to flatten out ):
"You see a whole load of pseudo-scientific claims that get made for why curved TVs are a good thing. I think they're designed to bamboozle," said Paul Gray, director of European TV Research for DisplaySearch.
Gray and others see a saturated TV market that's not growing, so manufacturers are scrambling for the next gimmick to spur sales.
Indeed, movie theaters, such as IMAX 3D, use curved screens to correct for the distortions caused by images projected to a large size and in wide formats like 23:9 Cinemascope. With a flat screen, light projecting from a lens would have to travel farther to the edges of a screen. But, the curve-screen benefits for a movie theater don't translate to a 65-in. television, Gray said.
As Samsung states in its marketing material, "you get a perfect view from any angle."
On the contrary, Gray and others say curved-screen TVs only offer someone sitting at the center axis of the TV a great picture. Anyone sitting at right or left angles will have a markedly distorted view.
"There is definitely a reduced viewing angle in terms of other people in the room who are not sitting in the sweet spot," Gray said.
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From the C|NET article about after trading out a plasma TV for a curved one at the 2-week of in home use (
My life with a curved TV Week 2 ) :
First, I want my plasma back, but for reasons that have little to do with geometry. I mostly miss its superior picture quality, particularly for off-angle viewing and uniformity.
Second, despite the radical-looking shape of the new TV, the curve doesn't have much effect -- positive or negative -- on me and my family's enjoyment of TV shows, movies and games.
...watching a curved TV is a lot like watching a flat one. In fact, the curve has much less of an impact on our daily enjoyment of boob tubery than I anticipated.
On most material, I simply don't notice it. The curve is subtle enough, and the geometric distortions it causes are gentle enough, to basically not register with most of the programming I've watched. Usually I forget I'm watching anything other than a standard TV that's almost as good as the one I'm used to watching.
From my sweet spot on the couch, seated about 10.5 feet from the apex of the curve, the shape of the screen has a slight bowtie or pincushion look: the edges seem a bit larger than the middle. The shape is made more obvious compared to the straight lines of my entertainment cabinet and a window frame directly above the TV.
When I notice the bowtie shape again, it's usually when horizontal lines from graphical elements appear on-screen. Examples include the program guide from my TiVo, a ticker along the bottom of on the screen during any number of sports or news shows, lines on a tennis court, and other similar elements from video games. Rows of words on the screen also cause the curve to be noticeable.
Moving off-angle, and viewing horizontal lines, increases the visibility of distortions.
When I moved from the sweet spot the distortions grew. From my room's furthest-flung TV-watching spot, a chair to the right of my sectional, the curve was a lot more noticeable. The near edge seemed larger than it should be, and the middle to far middle seemed too small, before growing again at the far edge.
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So on and so forth.
So I see no real measurable benefit to the curved screen and neither do they in those articles. There is talk of less reflections, but that seems to be more from the change in screen material from a super reflective plasma screen to the matte curve than geometry. It is supposed to take an OLED screen, which is curved more than other technologies, to actually curve out reflections, but then you have even more distortion.
Those were the two major articles that came up on the first page of search results that weren't at a manufacturer's or retailer's website.
There is also
Do you need a curved tv where it is all quotes from a manufacturer and talks about how nice the higher resolution is, and in the end, even after all of the marketing quotes, they say that the curve at least doesn't "get in the way" not that it makes it better at all.
Here is a C|NET video where the title says it all:
Curved TV a flat out gimmick 4K and UHD is great, but just give me a nice flat screen please.... Unless the screen is really large (70"+) for my living room.
We got on to this topic as some sidetrack from the Atmos topic. I am fine with moving back to the subject whenever others are.
